Elysian Fields remain a state of mind, a paradise of heroes, a place, as Virgil said, of perpetual springs and shady grove. A place where baseball is played and revered.

Friday Happy Hour at the Elysian Fields Bar & Grill

Welcome to the Elysian Fields Bar and Grill, where a good wingman and bartender are appreciated to the year 2013 and beyond.

* Michael Young’s extension is for $16 million per season. The Florida Marlins payroll in 2006 was $14,998,550. There were 14 Major League players who individually made more than that in 2005 and 12 in 2006. Florida still finished with a better record than seven other National League teams.

* Young has played 4,099 innings at shortstop the last three years. That’s the third most. Jimmy Rollins has been out there for 4,1102/3 innings and Miguel Tejeda has been out there for 4,110 innings.

* Young has played 797 games since the start of the 2002 season. Overall, only Miguel Tejeda (810), Juan Pierre (800) and Ichiro Suzuki (800) have played in more.

* Sammy Sosa dropped a nice bunt in a situational hitting drill this week but don’t look for that in a game. Said manager Ron Washington, "If I have Sammy bunt in a game, I’m sure I’ll hear it from the fans. Mr. Hicks will be over in his box yelling at me."

* Rangers broadcaster Eric Nadel on hosting the upcoming Ron Washington Show before games this season: "I think it’s going to be great. I think we’ll have some refreshingly different perspectives on things. Just the way Wash phrases things is often so entertaining. I think there will be a lot of personality on the show."

* Pitcher C.J. Wilson loves diving after ground balls the way Kenny Rogers used to do it with the Rangers. Said Wilson, "If Kenny Rogers can go diving after balls when he’s 40 years old, why can’t I do that. My goal is to win a Gold Glove. As a former position player, I take pride in my defense."

* Ian Kinsler says catcher Gerald Laird is "crazy" in drills. Said Kinsler, "Any kind of competition, he’s always talking about how he’s the best even before it gets started and you hear about it

* Sure you’ll be eager to see Colorado Rockies infielder Kaz Matsui’s first at-bat of the season. He hit an inside-the-park home run in his first at-bat last season. That makes three years in a row he has hit a home run in his first at-bat of the season and nobody has ever done that in Major League history.

* Remember Colby Lewis, Chris Michalak and Mike Bacsik? They all pitched for the Rangers. Now you can count them among the dozen candidates for four open spots in the Washington Nationals rotation this spring.

* Did anybody notice last year that the Rangers lost to the Minnesota Twins, 15-2, on July 31 last year. So? The Kansas City Royals lost 15-2 the day before. Matt Stairs was on the losing end of both those routs.

* Think we had a discussion earlier this off-season about Jim Sundberg hitting home runs on his birthday. Did you know that Derrek Lee has hit a home run on his birthday, Sept. 6, in each of the last four years?

* Just for the heck of it: Ryan Ludwick

* Pitcher John Danks said getting traded by the Rangers was, "a little surprising at first…But I couldn’t be happier where I’m at. The more I think about it, the more excited I get. I feel like I’m getting the best opportunity this year in my career."

* The Cardinals were 83-78 during the regular season last year. They were 11-5 in the playoffs. So they were one game more over .500 in the playoffs than they were in the regular season.

* Rangers pitching coach Mark Connor on Akinori Otsuka: "He’s on a mission. We didn’t see him much in Spring Training but the way he’s come in here, you can tell he worked hard and did a lot of throwing in the off-season."

* Toby mentioned earlier this week that Rangers pitcher Bruce Chen is working toward a civil engineering degree at Georgia Tech. Should also mention that he has made the dean’s list along the way

* Just in case you were wondering about these finely-conditioned athletes, Padres pitcher David Wells wears a size 58 jersey and Indians pitcher C.C. Sabathia wears a size 56.

* Kenny Lofton is part-owner of a post-production company in Hollywood.

* Tigers catcher Ivan Rodriguez is 35 but manager Jim Leyland said, "He looks young. When I was 35, I looked like I do at 62."

* Ron Washington, Michael Young, Mark Teixeira and Kevin Millwood are on the cover of the Rangers 2007 media guide.

* Sad day at the Elysian Fields. Eight students were killed at Enterprise (Ala.) High School on Thursday because of a tornado that swept through the area. The building was seriously damaged. I graduated from that high school in 1977. Forsan miseros meliora sequentur.

Thanks go out to Doug Melvin for the trade he made to obtain Michael Young. Loaiza was a nut and never reached his potential. This is another fine example of Melvin’s ability as a General Manager. Patience is a virtue, Mr. Caesar. I don’t know what type of problem you had with Mr. Melvin, but me thinks we made a mistake in letting him get away. When you get the 27 million dollar financial flexibility from Rodriguez’s opt out in NY, use that as a down payment for Teixiera’s new contract. All will then be well, in Rangerland. It is called a ROI, return on investment as you well know. Then you guys can move him to the outfield, where a 126 million dollar contractual player should be. The last we saw we don’t have alot of budding superstar outfielders in the minor leagues. Sign Tex, Sign Tex, Sign Tex, Sign Tex, Sign Tex, Sign Tex, Sign Tex, Sign TEX. We can’t let him get away, 18 million a year is a lot of money, but it is the price to pay, to compete. We have to keep Young and Teixiera together for at least 5 more years to see what they can do. Does anyone else feel this way? There are strength in numbers people!!!!!!!!!

1) RE: Washington’s pre-game radio show with Eric Nadel: Everything I hear about Wash is cheerful and rosy. Buck didn’t have that type of personality, and he’s crucified and vilified from the pampered athletes because he isn’t touchy-feely. These guys make multi-millions, more so than teachers, scientists, law enforcement, our soldiers, and 99.99% of Americans. I hope Mr. Rose-colored glasses can win with the guys this year…I just hate that Buck, a great baseball mind was run out on a rail because he wasn’t a “player’s manager”…with all the agents and money in the game, the players should play for pride, to justify that they were worth the contract, or AT THE LEAST, to be motivated by Uncle Sam’s greenbacks.

2) RE: Congratulations on the agreement reached with Mike Young on his contract. He deserves it, AND Mr. Hicks and JD stepped to the plate and hit a homerun.

3) Even the most hardened anti-Hicks and anti-JD Ranger fan MUST admit, if they were honest, that what started as an absolutely horrendous off-season, by losing Gary Matthews, Carlos Lee, Mark DeRosa, Adam Eaton, Kip Wells, and being spurned by Barry Zito, amongst others, that JD has righted the ship, and from my vantage point, the Rangers outlook NOW looks very promising indeed, with all the additions, plus signing Michael Young keeps a huge part of the core together. I have never been more optimistic, at this point, because frankly, I was in despair by losing so many players. So, you “glass is half-full” types, please feel a bit more of Washington’s rosy dispostion, and come onboard. Boy, am I Pollyanna or what?

4) Is anyone hearing anything on Frankie Francisco? I’ve stopped hearing anything about him at all. Hope that’s not a bad sign.

5) Just for the heckuvit: Kevin Gross

6) Looking ahead, will the Rangers be able to afford an Andruw Jones or Tori Hunter for a long-term centerfield solution, if they go way high trying to placate Scott Boras on Tex? I’d prefer Tex, but Lofton won’t be here next year, so I was just philosophizing on what to do about centerfield, long term. TR, any ideas?

Thinking thoughts along these lines. When Tom Hicks complains about paying too much for A-Rod at 25 Million a year. The reality of it is that if you count the three years that A-Rod spent here at 25 million a year and add up the four years in NY at 36 million, then it really cost Hicks 37 million a year for A-Rod to play in Texas, this is his actual playing time here. The point is, you can now have both Young and Teixiera for a combined 34 million a year. Lets do it Tommy Boy. Sign Tex. Sign TEX, SIGN Tex.

I have to admit that I thought Michael Young was the player Gary Matthews, Jr meant when he said there was another Ranger that wanted to play in Anaheim. I am highly pleased to see I was wrong. Michael is one of the best clutch hitters in baseball. I hope am not wrong about Tex. I think the fact that he moved to the area and has given back so much is a clue. He will sign with the Rangers. However they are going to have to pay the freight. He is worth more than Carlos Lee ($100 Million). A big factor will be if the Rangers make the playoffs this year.

If you grew up in the Midwest, as I did, nothing is more frightening than a stormy afternoon while you are in school, sitting on the floor in hallway waiting for the wind, thunder and lightning to end just so you can get out of there and go home. Kind thoughts and prayers for all of those affected by the storms on Thursday.

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